I’ll go ahead and put this out there right now. Jason Hatcher is YOUR starting defensive end against the Giants and for the rest of the year, as a matter of fact. I’ve seen enough of what Spears brings, and nothing has changed. The new scheme has helped Bradie James back into his stellar self again, but the results are far from the same for Marcus Spears. Hatcher on the other hand, has continued to improve, he was good last year, and looks even better this year. You want to see a steady progression, and Hatcher has surpassed Spears in all phases. Hatcher is much more explosive off the line, aggressive, and has a high motor that doesn’t stop. Time to unleash hell upon Eli Manning. Its Hatcher time baby! Share

Alright, that was a lame preseason game, Cowboys lose a meaningless game 23-14; however, we came out of the game without any major injuries. Expect the cuts and practice squad to come swiftly as we are now in full regular season mode now. BOX SCORE It’s here everyone, the moment we have all been waiting for. The regular season is here, first game is on Thursday night on NBC, followed by the rest of the weekend games on Sunday, and the Cowboys headline Sunday Night Football in America on NBC as we host the NY Giants. Major questions remain: Will shutdown CB Terence Newman play? Will deep threat WR Terry Glenn play? Will Greg Ellis ever play this year, or go on IR? I’ll take a closer look as we finalize the roster in a few days. Share

Much has been said about the 2-Back system in the NFL, some have called it a gimmick, and some call it a phase. But when you look at the teams in playoffs last year, a majority of them ran an effective 2-Back system. The Cowboys are on the forefront with perhaps the best 2-Back attack going into the 2007 season, the Saints and Chargers are the other two premium running attacks next to the Cowboys. The major misconception amongst fans and outsiders is that we run a single running back attack, where we have a clear #1 starting running back that carries the load. This is not the case in Dallas, neither previous Coach Parcells, nor, current Coach Phillips announce the starting running back because there is no starting running back, its a shared load. There’s no camp battle, its a lethal 1-2 punch to the nose with Julius and Marion providing the knockout runs. “It used to be you had one running back,” coach Wade Phillips said. “Now it’s changed where a lot of teams have been able to utilize two good backs. That’s the situation I’ve walked into and I think it’s a good situation.” Phillips came into this 2-Back system, he knew it would

I got together with NFL Draft Guru, Scott Wright of NFLDraftCountDown.com and conducted a brief Q&A in regards to the 2008 draft class. Its never too early to look at the upcoming prospects; furthermore, I thought it would be a great idea to get a jumpstart and take a look at areas of concern for the Cowboys. In light of the recent events surrounding Newman’s injury, its clear that the Cowboys are not running a quality core group of cornerbacks, and with Newman out this just underlines our inadequacies. I look for the Cowboys to go CB in 2008, an area where we’re paper thin with quality. Here’s my 5 question session with Mr. Wright: 1. There’s no secret the Cowboys are thin at cornerback, We have Terence Newman, and a capable Anthony Henry. After the two starters, we have nothing solid. Its even debatable whether or not Henry is the guy opposite Newman next year and beyond. When you think of a complete CB senior/junior that will be in the draft, who’s the first player that comes to mind? Tell me why we should keep an eye on this player. And who else are some top CBs you really like for 2008? Well, there’s good news and bad news for teams in the

I wasn’t surprised by the first round of cuts today; however, I hope Jackie Battle can return via the practice squad, assuming he can recover from the ankle injury. After watching training camp and the first three preseason games, the 53-man roster is becoming clearer. Here’s my latest roster projections: QB (2): Tony Romo, Brad Johnson RB (3): Julius Jones, Marion Barber 3, Tyson Thompson FB (2): Oliver Hoyte, Deon Anderson WR (6): Terrell Owens, Terry Glenn, Patrick Crayton, Sam Hurd, Isaiah Stanback, Miles Austin TE (3): Jason Witten, Anthony Fasano, Tony Curtis OL (9): Flozell Adams, Kyle Kosier, Andre Gurode, Leonard Davis, Marc Colombo, Pat McQuistan, James Marten, Doug Free, Cory Procter Offense (25) DL (4): Jason Hatcher, Jay Ratliff, Chris Canty, Marcus Spears NT (2): Jason Ferguson, Remi Ayodele LB (8): DeMarcus Ware, Bradie James, Akin Ayodele, Greg Ellis, Bobby Carpenter, Anthony Spencer, Kevin Burnett, Junior Glymph CB (6): Terence Newman, Anthony Henry, Aaron Glenn, Jacques Reeves, Joey Thomas, Quincy Butler FS (3): Ken Hamlin, Patrick Watkins, Courtney Brown SS (2): Roy Williams, Keith Davis ST (3): Nick Folk, Mat McBriar, L.P. Ladouceur Defense (28) With

Cowboys have announced player cuts, and an injury settlement with Jackie Battle. Cowboys | Stanley released Mon, 27 Aug 2007 13:24:20 -0700 The Dallas Cowboys have announced they have released DL Montavious Stanley. Cowboys | Richardson released Mon, 27 Aug 2007 13:23:53 -0700 The Dallas Cowboys have announced they have released WR Jamel Richardson. Cowboys | Rabb released Mon, 27 Aug 2007 13:23:03 -0700 The Dallas Cowboys have announced they have released WR Jerard Rabb. Cowboys | Obomese released Mon, 27 Aug 2007 13:20:23 -0700 The Dallas Cowboys have announced they have released LB Alex Obomese. Cowboys | Hilliard released Mon, 27 Aug 2007 13:16:39 -0700 The Dallas Cowboys have announced they have released OT Jason Hilliard. Cowboys | Harrington released Mon, 27 Aug 2007 13:15:38 -0700 The Dallas Cowboys have announced they have released LB Dedrick Harrington. Cowboys | Dagunduro released Mon, 27 Aug 2007 13:14:23 -0700 The Dallas Cowboys have announced they have released DL Ola Dagunduro. Cowboys | Rector released Mon, 27 Aug 2007 13:11:37 -0700 The Dallas Cowboys have announced they have released injured WR Jamaica Rector (knee). Cowboys | Team reaches agreement with Battle Mon,

Can Kevin Burnett go one season without an injury. There were rumors the Cowboys would be looking at moving a LB for a CB, and I’m hoping this comes true. Please take the injury prone Burnett off our hands and get us a capable cornerback. The latest news from Cowboys camp is not good, Newman has a tear in his heel, and says the injury will bother him all year. Not good, not good at all! In addition to that, we have Burnett being injured again, and will require surgery. Ellis will not be ready, and could go on PUP for 6 weeks, and in all honesty, Spencer and Carpenter have just been average at OLB. I’m not hitting the panic button yet, but it’s looming. DMN on Burnett: LB Kevin Burnett said Saturday night that he didn’t think his ankle injury was serious, but X-rays showed bone chips. He’ll have an operation tomorrow, and the plan is for him to be ready to go against the Giants. Other injury news: OLB Greg Ellis, who has been day-to-day for a month, is visiting Dr. James Andrews in Alabama to get a second opinion. “We think he’s pretty close [to playing],” Wade Phillips said. “We’d like to get a second opinion for both parties,

Interesting little tidbit from the DMN Blog gives us this to read: Aaron Glenn said he thinks the Cowboys have a good group of cornerbacks. Wade Phillips disagreed after watching Glenn, Jacques Reeves and Alan Ball get beat for touchdowns tonight. “We played a lot [of guys] at corner to see who would do something,” Phillips said, “and we didn’t see anything.” Phillips said this week that he was concerned about the lack of quality depth at cornerback. Consider it a huge problem if Terence Newman’s plantar faciitis doesn’t get better. The Cowboys attempted to address the issue earlier this month. They inquired about trading for Dante Wesley, but the Bears opted to send him to New England for a conditional seventh-rounder. And some of you want Darren MacFadden…forget about it, we have bigger issues at hand. Phillips is going to upgrade the CB position in the next draft, you can write that down, put it your calender as an event reminder, or whatever you want. Besides Terence Newman, we don’t really have a good #2CB. We have Henry, he’s capable, but nothing spectacular at all, the truth is that we are really thin on quality corners

If you call this a dress rehearsal game, then we’re in trouble. What a complete disaster from beginning to the end. The offense was putrid, and the defense looked unenthused. Lack of discipline just reared its ugly head in this game. What happened tonight was an embarrassment, and a let down, but its good to bring the Cowboys down to earth after seeming to be unstoppable in our last two outings. There’s just a whole litany of things that went wrong tonight. A good ass whipping is just what the doctor ordered. Hopefully lessons will be learned, and the team can refocus on the task at hand, a Super Bowl. Who was on? On the positive side, Bradie James is indeed back. He has played well throughout the preseason, and looked outstanding tonight. He probably get’s a gameball for all his efforts. James has really come on in this new defensive scheme. As predicted, Sam Hurd got a lot of reps in tonight, and he continues to look good as a possession receiver. Who was off? This list could go on forever, so I’ll keep it nice and concise: Special Teams continues to suffer. I’m not quite sure Bruce Read is getting the job done here, and I just knew that the Texans were

The Battle for Texas, The Governor’s Cup is tonight. I’ll be at Reliant Stadium tonight, deep in the heart of the enemy. I’m sure the crowd will be electrified as the game should be at full capacity. Houston hates the Cowboys, and Cowboys fans can’t stand Texans fans either. It should be a great time. Let’s hope the Cowboys can bring home another victory, but more importantly, return home injury free. Be sure to join our fan packed message boards to discuss the action as it happens. Kickoff: 7PM (CST), Reliant Stadium, Local CBS Markets NFL Network Replay: Sunday, 7AM (CST) NFL.com Live Gamecenter: NFL Gameday Graphical Feed Streaming Audio Feed: http://radio.woai.com/pages/listen.html http://www.theticket.com http://www.kicks99.net/ http://www.khoy.org Streaming Video Feed: http://streamednfl.blogspot.com/ (sopcast player required, get it HERE) Here’s a small preview of the upcoming game: HOUSTON — (AP) Wade Phillips was an assistant with the Houston Oilers when he met Gary Kubiak, then a high school student and ball boy for the team. Thirty years later the two, who are now close friends, will meet again when Kubiak and the Houston Texans host

My how the tune has changed for Cowboys Nation, you see it on all the message boards, and blogs, “Newman is out, the sky is falling” I’ve been saying this all along, our first pick should focus on a top tier CB, not on McFadden, who is all but assured to be holdout headache for someone. I’m not onboard the D-Mac train, instead I’m on the CB train. Here’s what I said in regards to our 2008 draft: As for what position we may need to address in the draft, its early, but you would have to say CB, and WR would be atop the list of priority needs. After Newman, there’s a big drop in coverage. There’s Henry, but no one seems confident in him lately. The young CBs on the team, aren’t even at Henry’s level, so that’s a position of concern. I had predicted a solid win over the Texans this coming Saturday, but with Newman out the rest of the preseason, you will see our CBs exploited, and the importance of at least having two shutdown corners will become more pronounced. Henry and Glenn will be the starters, and watch out. Glenn has lost a step, and has never been a good cover corner while in Dallas. Henry, well we all know

With this week being the dress rehearsal for most teams, we’re drawing closer to the regular season. Some teams have bolstered their rosters with free agents, while others have replenished via the draft. The NFL season is always unpredictable, but I’ll take my stab at the NFL season. What’s everyone’s predictions for the upcoming NFL season? Do you agree or strongly disagree? Join the predictions at the message boards now and give your 2cents! NFC East Dallas Cowboys(2) Philadelphia Eagles NY Giants Washington Redskins NFC North Chicago Bears(3) Detroit Lions(6) Minnesota Vikings Green Bay Packers NFC South New Orleans Saints(1) Carolina Panthers Tampa Bay Buccaneers Atlanta Falcons NFC West Seattle Seahawks(4) San Fransisco 49ers(5) Arizona Cardinals St. Louis Rams Wildcard Weekend 49ers(5) @ Seahawks(4) Lions(6) @ Bears(3) Divisional Playoffs 49ers(5) @ Saints(1) Bears(3) @ Cowboys(2) NFC Conference Championship Cowboys(2) @ Saints(1) AFC East New England Patriots (2) NY Jets (5) Miami Dolphins Buffalo Bills AFC North Baltimore Ravens (4) Cincinnati Bengals Pittsburgh Steelers Cleveland Browns AFC South Indianapolis Colts (3) Houston Texans Tennessee Titans Jacksonville